India’s state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has said it is prepared to restart upstream operations in Syria once “normalcy” returns, according to The National. Executives from ONGC Videsh Ltd, the company’s overseas arm, confirmed they are monitoring developments closely and would move to re-enter the Syrian sector if political stability and security conditions permit.
The disclosure marks the first public signal in over a decade that ONGC could resume activities in Syria, where it previously held stakes in the Al-Furat Petroleum Company before operations were suspended in 2012 amid the country’s civil war and subsequent international sanctions.
ONGC Videsh has maintained legal ownership in the projects but halted production and staffing after U.S. and EU restrictions on Syrian oil exports took effect.
The announcement follows India’s broader push to rebuild energy partnerships across the Middle East and Eurasia, as the company expands its international trading and upstream footprint.
In August, ONGC said it would launch a global crude and refined-product trading unit through its Singapore subsidiary, while keeping its sanctioned Syrian assets “on hold pending diplomatic developments,” according to The New Indian Express.
Any return to Syrian production would require approval from New Delhi and a shift in the current U.S. and EU sanctions framework. Analysts note that India’s cautious position mirrors that of several Asian state producers who have expressed conditional interest in post-conflict reconstruction but remain wary of secondary sanctions risk.
Renewed attention to Syria’s oil sector comes amid a reordering of control among Moscow- and Tehran-backed operators, who have consolidated most producing acreage through long-term service and protection contracts with Damascus.
Russian firms such as Stroytransgaz and Mercury LLC currently oversee major onshore blocks and export infrastructure under government-to-government agreements, while Iranian entities manage smaller rehabilitation projects in the central and southern fields. Any re-entry by Asian state companies like ONGC would likely hinge on coordination with these actors and on the gradual easing of Western restrictions that have kept foreign capital sidelined since 2012.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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